Glass bottle with an antidrip neck

ABSTRACT

A glass bottle comprises a neck ( 2 ) forming an upwards mouth ( 3 ) through which the liquid flows out and, for preventing liquid residues from dripping on the outer surface of the neck ( 2 ), at least one annular groove ( 4 ) integrally formed in the outer surface of said neck ( 2 ) nearby said mouth ( 3 ). Such groove is formed by a frustoconical portion ( 5 ), coaxial to the central axis (X) of the neck ( 2 ) and having a diameter which decreases downwards, and by an annulus-shaped portion ( 6 ), lying on a plane which is substantially normal to the axis (X) of the neck and smoothly filleted with said frustoconical portion ( 5 ), the maximum diameter of the annulus-shaped ( 6 ) portion being substantially equal to the maximum diameter of the frustoconical portion ( 5 ).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of glass bottles, in particular but not exclusively wine bottles. More precisely, it concerns a bottle with an anti-drip neck.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

[0002] A well known inconvenience consists in the fact that, after each pouring operation of wine from a bottle, residues tend to form on its neck, near the mouth through which the wine flows out. This occurrence, which—generally speaking—takes place with any kind of liquid, is particularly relevant and annoying in case of wine. Namely, wine has a relatively low viscosity and the residues flow down easily and fast along the body of the bottle, towards the supporting plane. When they reach the surface, the latter is stained, together with the tablecloth by which said surface is usually covered. Wine stains are very hard to remove. The surface remains indelibly stained by variously evident blots, especially if it is made of marble or wood which are not suitably pretreated. The same applies to tablecloths. Furthermore, the body of the bottle remains dirty and slippery and for this reason its use is inconvenient and troublesome.

[0003] A range of different solutions have been proposed in the past in order to overcome this inconvenience. According to many of them, the mouth of the bottle is provided with a supplementary anti-dripping element, fixed or movable, consisting in a duct or a sleeve engaged within the mouth. The element, thanks to a peculiar shape or to the characteristics of the material it is made of, can prevent the formation and/or the dripping of the residues. Even without considering the efficiency of such systems, their success has been considerably penalized by the constructive complication they involve, and consequently by the higher production cost that may derive from the presence of an additional member. Besides, many of these solutions cause a considerable worsening of the aesthetics of the bottle, and for this reason they have been discarded.

[0004] In other known systems, the outer surface of the bottle neck, near the mouth, is modified in order to make the liquid dripping stop/stagnate thereon. However, even in this case one or more additional members have been added to the traditional glass structure of the bottle, with the same disadvantages of the previously mentioned solutions. Attempts are also known to provide the bottle neck with integral stop means, obtained during the molding step of the glass material. Said attempts were unsuccessful, because they could not match an adequate capability of stopping the residues with a satisfactory aesthetics and above all with reduced production costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Considering the above described problems, the applicant has surprisingly come up to a solution which, applied to a glass bottle, in particular but not exclusively a wine bottle of the so-called “without capsule” type, allows to prevent the dripping of the liquid residues perfectly, with an extremely appealing aesthetics and most of all with production costs that are substantially equivalent to the ones of a conventional bottle.

[0006] According to the invention, a glass bottle is provided comprising a neck forming a upwards mouth through which the liquid flows out, and means for preventing liquid residues from dripping on the outer surface of the neck, said means being arranged nearby said mouth, characterized in that said means comprise at least an annular groove integrally formed in the outer surface of said neck and defined by a frustoconical portion of said surface, coaxial to the central axis of the neck and having a diameter which decreases downwards, and by an annulus-shaped portion, lying on a plane which is substantially normal to said axis of the neck and smoothly filleted with said frustoconical portion, the maximum diameter of said annulus-shaped portion being substantially equal to the maximum diameter of said frustoconical portion.

[0007] The at least one groove, shaped as mentioned, can adequately stop the liquid residues generated after the same liquid has been poured out from the bottle. Residues flow downwards along the frustoconical portion and spread over the annulus-shaped portion, reaching a condition in which the adhesion to the surface of the glass tends to overcome the gravity force. On the other hand, said groove can be obtained easily, directly in the glass molding step, by means of a die minimally modified with respect to a traditional one. Besides, the linearity and sobriety of the shape of the groove do not impair the aesthetics of the bottle.

[0008] Preferably, at least two grooves are provided, even more preferably three or four, arranged in series so that the annulus-shaped portion of a groove is radiused with the frustoconical portion of the adjacently lower groove, the radius being much sharper than the fillet at the bottom of the groove. In this way, even relatively abundant liquid residues, which may overflow a first groove, can be stopped by the next ones.

[0009] In a most advantageous solution, the taper of said frustoconical portion is comprised between 22° and 24° and the width of the groove, measured axially between the relevant annulus-shaped portion and the one of the adjacently higher groove, is about 6 mm. This implies a groove depth, measured radially, equal to 4 mm. An excellent result, in terms of capability of stopping the residues, is thus obtained without decreasing excessively the glass thickness in correspondence to the neck and therefore avoiding a structural weakening, as well as the development of inwards ribs which would be an obstacle when placing/removing the cork plug.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Further characteristics and advantages of the glass bottle with an antidrip neck according to the present invention will be made clearer hereinafter with the following description of an embodiment thereof, made as an example but not limitative, referring to the attached drawings in which:

[0011]FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a bottle according to the present invention; and

[0012]FIG. 2 is a side view, macroscopically enlarged, of the top end of the neck of the bottle shown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0013] Referring to said figures, a wine bottle, made of glass, conventionally comprises a cylindrical body 1, from the upper part of which a neck 2 coaxially stands. Neck 2 is for example and typically cylindrical as well, but with a much smaller diameter. At the top end, neck 2 has a mouth 3, through which the liquid contained in the bottle flows out. According to the invention, on the outer surface of neck 2, nearby mouth 3, at least one annular groove 4 is formed, the function of which is to prevent the dripping of liquid residues after the same has been poured out from mouth 3.

[0014] More precisely, referring in particular to FIG. 2, a groove 4 is defined by a frustoconical portion 5 of said outer surface, coaxial to the central axis of the neck—indicated at X—and having a diameter which decreases downwards, and by an annulus-shaped portion 6, laying on a plane which is substantially (but preferably not exactly, as explained hereinafter) normal to axis X. The frustoconical and annulus-shaped portions 5 and 6, the respective maximum diameters of which are substantially equal, are smoothly filleted with each other. Considering as a basis the bottle typical size characteristics which will be referred to hereinafter, said smoothness effect will be obtained with a filleting radius of about 1 mm (or even with a slightly smaller one).

[0015] In the depicted example, four grooves 4 arranged in series are provided, each annulus-shaped portion 6 being radiused with the adjacently lower frustoconical portion 5, the radius being much sharper than the fillet at the bottom of the groove. The first groove 5 (that is, the highest one) and the last one (the lowest one) are respectively adjacent to a top end enlargement 8, defining an upwards face 8 a on which mouth 3 opens, and to a lower ring 7 under which the remaining part of neck 2 extends. A further annular gutterlike groove 9 may be formed in enlargement 8.

[0016] In the embodiment shown, the taper of each frustoconical portion 5, indicated at α, is about 22-24°, and the width of each groove 4—intended as the axially measured distance D between two consecutive annulus-shaped portions 6—is about 6 mm. From this follows that the groove has a depth P, measured radially, of about 4 mm. In this respect, it has to be considered that the general size (outer and inner diameter) of the bottle neck is a result of substantially standardized design parameters, to which it is therefore necessary to keep to.

[0017] Considering such limitation, the above mentioned optimum values make it possible to maximize the increase, with respect to the traditional cylindrical conformation, of the useful surface for decelerating the residues, at the same time affecting a reduced axial segment of neck 2 and most of all avoiding an excessive decrease of the glass thickness. This last aspect is very important because if the thickness descends below a certain value, the structure becomes weaker and the inner surface of the neck 2, in correspondence to the bottom of grooves 4, forms ribs which turn out to be an obstacle when placing and removing the cork plug.

[0018] As mentioned above, the annulus-shaped portion 6 preferably does not lie on the plane which is normal to axis X of neck 2, but is inclined with respect to said plane by a draft angle β of about 4°, thanks to which the formation of superficial defects is avoided.

[0019] It will be apparent that the bottle according to the invention, due to its simple axially symmetrical structure, can be produced with the same technique of traditional bottles, simply using a properly modified die. The bottle will be particularly suitable for adopting the closing system without a protective capsule, i.e. that system in which a guarantee seal affects only the upwards side 8 a in which mouth 3 opens. In fact, if a capsule does not coat the side surface of neck 2, the grooves 4 can carry out their antidrip function immediately and directly. If, on the contrary, the traditional capsule is present, it will have to be completely removed when the bottle is opened.

[0020] Even if in the description and in the drawings a bottle of the so-called “bordolese” type has always been referred to, of course the proposed solution can be suitable, with minor changes, for other kinds of wine bottles, for example the “borgognotta” and “alsaziana”, and also for other liquids for which analogous antidrip needs arise, in particular oil. As mentioned, the arrangement of four grooves 4 in a series is enough to stop the dripping of even relatively abundant liquid residuals. On the other hand, when suitable according to the specific circumstances, a different number of grooves may be adopted.

[0021] Variations and/or modifications can be brought to the glass bottle with an antidrip neck according to the present invention, without departing from the scope of the invention itself. 

1. A glass bottle comprising a neck (2) forming a upwards mouth (3) through which the liquid flows out, and means (4) for preventing liquid residues from dripping on the outer surface of the neck (2), said means being arranged nearby said mouth (3), characterized in that said means (4) comprise at least one annular groove (4) integrally formed in the outer surface of said neck (2), said groove (4) being defined by a frustoconical portion (5) of said surface, coaxial to the central axis (X) of the neck (2) and having a diameter which decreases downwards, and by an annulus-shaped portion (6), lying on a plane which is substantially normal to said axis (X) of the neck and smoothly filleted with said frustoconical portion (5), the maximum diameter of said annulus-shaped portion (6) being substantially equal to the maximum diameter of said frustoconical portion (5).
 2. The bottle according to claim 1, in which at least two grooves (4) are provided, arranged in series so that the annulus-shaped portion (6) of a first groove (4) is radiused with the frustoconical portion (5) of an adjacently lower second groove (4), the radius being much sharper than the fillet at the bottom of the groove.
 3. The bottle according to claim 2, comprising three or four grooves (4) arranged in series.
 4. The bottle according to any of the previous claims, in which the taper (α) of said frustoconical portion is comprised between 22° and 24° and the width (D) of the at least one groove, measured axially, is about 6 mm, whereby the depth (D) of the groove, measured radially, is equal to about 4 mm.
 5. The bottle according to any of the previous claims, in which between the at least one groove (4) and said mouth (3), said neck (2) integrally provides a radial enlargement (8) in which a supplementary gutterlike annular groove (9) is formed.
 6. The bottle according to any of the previous claims, in which said annulus-shaped portion (6) is inclined by an angle (β) of about 4°, with respect to the plane which is normal to the central axis (X) of the neck. 